


Hallucinations from Flowers

by Keithers, Star_Crossed_Aliens



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Rewrite of Supernova, This really sucks guys, just saying, lance gets eaten, moss creature, uh, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 16:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18286028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keithers/pseuds/Keithers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Crossed_Aliens/pseuds/Star_Crossed_Aliens
Summary: Re-write of SupernovaA vacation goes haywire. Lance finds himself being devoured by a plant of all things. Could the team save him in time and will Lance confess to his crush before things turn for the worse?





	Hallucinations from Flowers

Lance stood at the edge of the meeting. Shiro and the others were bouncing ideas off one another to defeat Zarkon and his empire. Earlier he had voiced his opinion and proposed an idea himself but they were shot down. Not exactly ridiculed but Pidge had given him a sneer and Keith merely rolled his eyes. It sparked the second voice in his head. It was a never positive. It spoke too much and too often. 

It’d been with him ever since he learned that there was a food chain in a family such as his own. It was either eat or be eaten  and all too often, being the youngest of four, he was always eaten. 

It was no different in space. 

Sure he wasn’t alone for he had Hunk where he could voice his worries and concerns. However more often than not, he kept it to himself. Bottled it up and tossed it into the ocean of his inner thoughts where multiple bottles bobbed up and down and braced against harsh waves. 

Lance caught himself always second guessing in times like these where he was pushed aside and left to his own thoughts. What was he to the team? Anyone could man a gun and Allura made it clear that the blue lion was the most accepting of all the lions. 

Was he special? Probably not. He was the seventh wheel after all. 

Shiro and Allura had never paid him much attention in the first place but as time progressed he caught wind of Pidge and Hunk doing the same exact thing. With their common interest in building and technology, he was left behind. Oh and lets not exclude the hothead himself— Keith Kogane. 

The man didn’t even give him a passing glance, not that Lance wanted it anyways. Keith drove him insane, physically and emotionally. Lance just had to have a big dumb crush on his rival from the Garrison. Lance shook his head. No, not now, no feelings. He didn’t want to feel or think about the crush he had. Keith was better than him in every way imaginable and it just... It couldn’t work out. 

Keith was too far out of reach. Lance caught himself basking in the man’s shadows on multiple occasions. It was a fairly large shadow. Keith was the sun, unknowingly guiding him through the darkest of his days in order to push himself to be better or to at least be on equal footing as Kogane. 

However after what happened at the Garrison... Lance knew that would never happen. 

_That day... He just—_

Lance released a sigh and shook his head once more to clear his thoughts. His hands bunched up in his jacket pockets, he was focused on a spec of dirt on the cold metal floor below. 

“Lance?” Hunk called from his spot next to the paladin. Lance started. When did he get there and how long was he there? “I called your name like three times, are you okay man?” Well that answered his question. 

Pidge joined in soon after, her expression pensive, as if she was trying to make some observational guesses, “you’ve been spacing out a lot lately.”

The blue paladin smiled, covering up whatever he was feeling with a mask. He felt all their eyes on him. It was uncomfortable, like they were picking out the worst in him. Dissecting him. Lance made the mistake by returning each of their gazes. His eyes locked with Keith’s before he returned to the two in front of him, “what? I’m totally fine! See?” Lance’s smile widened into a grin with his arms out stretched as much as possible while his hands remained in his pockets, creating a set of wings with his jacket, “I’m just gonna go get a drink from the kitchen... All right?”

Before Hunk or Pidge could voice anymore concerns Lance was already out the door, safe from prying eyes.

safe from Keith’s eyes. 

No one saw Lance for the rest of the day or night. Not till the following day. 

“Lance, good of you to join us, did you sleep well?” Allura asked from her spot at the helm of the ship, she stood at the platform where two rods were used for steering the ship. Her tone and smile, along with the other’s not normally relaxed postures and smiles set off each and every alarm lance had developed over the years. Lance cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over the chest-plate of his armor, “as good as I usually do... Why is everyone acting strangely?” 

The princess laced her fingers together, smile stretched into a grin.

Hunk buzzed with energy, he was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, “oh man I can’t wait anymore! Can I tell him? I’m telling him!” Lance uncrossed is arms and huffed impatiently, “tell me what? Did Zarkon have a heart attack and die?” Hunk bounded up to his best friend, taking his hands into his own and rapidly shaking them as he spoke in excitement, “we found a planet similar to Earth and because we’ve all noticed you feeling down in the dumps, we’re taking a vacation!”

”A  _one_ day vacation but a vacation nonetheless, we’re already in oribit to the planet. Just do a quick sweep around with your lions and you’re free to do as you please,” Allura explained whist she watched Lance’s confused expression light up in pure joy, “holy shit— then what the hell are we waiting for?! Let’s go!”

Keith scoffed from his spot next to Shiro, the corner of his lip quirked in amusement as he watched the excited yellow and blue paladin scramble for their respective zip line elevators, “we were waiting for your dumbass to get here— hey don’t walk away from me when I’m talking!” Lance stopped just before his elevator and turned around to stick his tongue out, “nuh-uh, your sour emo ass isn’t bringing me down today, now we’re waiting on you so hurry the fuck up,” and with that said Lance was gone.

Unknowing of the fond roll of eyes Keith gave him or the soft smile that graced his lips for a split second before Shiro gave Keith a look that all older brothers seem to give their siblings; he  _knew._

Keith flipped him off before entering his own elevator. 

 

XxXxX 

 

From what Lance could tell from the scenery around him the planet looked to be in good health. Mountains and trees were in every direction. The sky was a light lilac with no clouds in sight but a lavender colored sun loomed from above. Lance spotted meadows of blue and yellow flowers, large bodies of liquid that glowed orange. 

Color scheme aside, it looked like home. 

_“The air here seems to be safe for breathing and no Galra in sight but be on alert there may be hostile animals or people living here. Keep your helmets close... other than that, go wild guys.”_ Shiro announced over the open communication lines to each of the paladins. A chorus of hoots followed his instructions, making the oldest of the team smile in exasperation. 

Lance raced Hunk down to the orange body of liquid below where they parked their lions on a sandy beach and exited. The two bolted to the water’s edge but because of the odd coloring and the unknown of what lived under the surface they remained on the brown grain, warmed by the lavender sun. 

“Oh my god, this feels amazing.” Lance sighed in content as he dropped to the ground in order to relax and let his eyes fall shut. He was stretched out to take as much space as possible, helmet off and next to his head. It didn’t take long for Hunk to join him. The yellow paladin found a stick and began drawing random shapes into the sand as the others touched down not far away. 

Hunk stole a glance toward his friend. 

Dark circles surrounded lance’s eyes and a pale complexion that came with the lack of sleep. Hunk had seen this once before. At the Garrison when there were tryouts for the flight cadet classes. Lance would spend days out of his time to study and practice. During such times Lance would forgo sleep and food and it was usually up to him to set the brunet on the straight path. 

Lately Hunk had begun to notice the distance between them.

”it’s been a while since we hung out like this, it’s nice.” Hunk began as he returned to doodling the triangle he had been working on. 

Lance opened his eyes to stare at the sky overhead before he turned to look at is friend, so Hunk had noticed the growing distance too. 

That was comforting... In an odd way. 

The brunet hummed, acknowledging Hunk’s comment. Hunk continued, “we live on a ship together, we’re so close but so far away... Where have you been man? You just disappear and we don’t see you until we’re calling your name and you never seem to be around. You’ve stopped hanging out with us.” 

That didn’t sound right. Well, it did, but it didn’t at the same time.

Was he being blamed for disappearing? For not being wanted? 

Lance sat up, brow pinched in bewilderment as he gazed at his friend. His eyes narrowed and mouth slightly agape. 

“You think that’s my fault? hunk I’ve been trying to be part of the crowd! You and Pidge have your science mumbo-jumbo! I can’t do that, Hunk. I have nothing in common with any of you and I feel alone just being near you two because you don’t include me or I can’t be included!” Lance hissed as his legs kicked up sand as he stood. Lance looked down at Hunk with such pain that it shook Hunk. 

Not once had he ever seen Lance lash out, not at anyone and certainly not at him.

”Lance I didn’t mean that—“ Hunk began but lance shook his head and cut him off, voice loud enough to travel to the other paladins who were making their way toward them, “oh sure you didn’t! Just like how you didn’t mean to push me away. It— I’m lonely here, Hunk. All of you are my friends but I don’t feel like I’m part of the group, i’m excluded in everything!”

Hunk scrambled to stand, hands outstretched to reach for his friend, to pull him into a hug but lance backed away with a shake of his head. 

The other paladins stopped just a few feet away, concern written on their faces, “what’s wrong?” 

Before Hunk could respond Lance spun around to face them, hands tossed into the air. He was fed up, “it’s none of your business! Just forget it!” 

He stormed off. 

Lance left his dumbfounded team and entered his lion without a second thought. He left them on that sandy beach and soared above the seemingly endless forest. 

Away from the problem he caused. 

Being with Blue made him feel a little calmer. It felt good, felt right. Their bond was strong and she always knew when he wasn’t himself. You could say— after Hunk— Blue was his best friend; his partner. 

Lance leaned his head back and closed his eyes as Blue took control of their flight. He was tired. God was he tired. 

Anxiety had been torturing him night after night and facial masks could only do so much for his dewindling complexion. 

Blue’s comforting purr brought a faint smile to his lips. 

He felt Blue touch down and he opened his eyes to look out the windshield. She landed in the middle of a meadow. Blue purred once more, coaxing her paladin to leave the safety that was her in order to get fresh air and essentially calm himself down by taking a short walk through the flowers that glowed a gentle blue hue.

Lance wasn’t sure if it was the firefly like bugs that zoomed around the meadow or if it was the flowers themselves that caused the glow but he’d find out soon enough. 

The first thing that hit him when he stepped outside was the feel of a cool breeze, the sound of rustling trees and the buzzing of many small wings beating in the air around him.  Upon closer inspection Lance realized that the flowers did in fact glow and not only that they were  _ scorpion grass _ or commonly known as  _ forget-me-not _ .

They were his favorite flowers.

The gentle blue that collapsed into a sunny yellow in the middle. To Lance they were the most important flower in the world for they held a special meaning. Lance’s expression softened as he lowered himself into the meadow and laid back, staring up at the darkening lilac sky.

Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes, “Papa… I messed up big time, I yelled at Hunk and everyone else. How am I supposed to apologize?” Lance turned his head to the side and picked a flower from the dirt, the petals looked soft, delicate to the touch.

“How’re you doing? Do you think mama and everyone else miss me? I know I miss them and I miss you too...” A sob caught in his throat as he forced himself to relax, to calm down as much as possible, which didn't do the trick.

Now he just felt… Helpless.

The wind picked up and stirred the flowers, purple colored pollen wafted into the air, the spores flowed with the breeze and seemed to swirl around the blue paladin causing his breath to hitch in awe but his eyelids grew heavy, his senses dulled. He could feel Blue’s worry from here. She begged him to return to her. Something was wrong.

She could feel it. 

She could feel her paladin, her Lance losing himself.

Her insistent whimpering buzzed in the back of Lance’s mind. He was about to get up and return to her but his limbs felt so heavy. Lance tried to lift his fingers and even wiggle his toes but nothing moved. At least he didn’t think they moved.

He couldn’t tell. It was like a heavy numbness, fuzzy and oddly comfortable. The purple pollen dipped and swirled, the fireflies followed like a dance and Lance fell into the trance.

Subconsciously he shut Blue out of his mind.

 

XxXxXx

 

Orbiting the planet was Castle of Lions where Allura scanned the planet for the blue lion as Keith's voice crackled over the intercom, "did you find him yet?" He was annoyed, he wasn't able to locate the source of his annoyance but he had a feeling it lied within Lance running off like he did or because he was worried for the blue paladin.

Most likely both.

With all the paladins in their lions and on the move, searching for hide or tail of the Blue lion, communication between all of them made it easier.  Coran pulled one end of his mustache, tweaking the little curve as he pulled up a thermal scan, video scan, and any other scans that he could think of, “well, I got bad news and good news! Good news is we found Lance! Bad news is we didn't quite do a thorough scan of the planet you're on. The flowers seem to be  _ Billede,  _ a type of flower that messes with your brains!"

Shiro quirked an eyebrow at the screen, waiting for further explanation.

Coran noted the silence as a sign to continue so he cleared his throat and sent a picture of the little blue flowers to each of the lion's screens so the paladins could see what him and Allura were looking at.

Hunk perked up at the sight and smiled, “hey I know those flowers! Oh man those are Lance’s favorites, they're all over the place,” his smile was replaced with a confused pout, “wait so how do these innocent little flowers affect the brain?”

“Glad you asked Hunk! The pollen that these babies produce create hallucinations of your loved ones. The hallucinations lead you to the mother flower where she absorbs your entire body into her system! It’s quite fascinating to watch really.” Coran replied, you could always count on Coran to say something morbid but still keep that chipper tone of his in place.

Pidge's voice cut in, frantic and laced with her own worry, "then we need to leave now, I found Blue and she's in the middle of that flower deathtrap!" Not only that but Lance was stumbling toward the beginnings of the forest, if he got lost in there it'd be hard to search for him on foot.

"Okay team, set your lions down by Blue, we have to make this quick and get Lance, do  _ not  _ take off your helmets under any circumstances," unison agreement followed after Shiro's statement.

Lance stretched out his hand, stumbling forward with a lopsided grin. The purple pollen and fireflies flew beside and behind him; guiding him.

Before him was his family.

His brother and sister walked alongside Lance with smiles. His abuela stood by his mama and papa, hands stretched out for him to take a hold of, “Mama! Papa! Everyone!” He cried. 

Tears began to flow down his cheeks, to drip to the flowers below. The more he walked, the more he stirred up the purple pollen. Lance  grasped onto his mama’s and papa’s outstretched hands. It all seemed so real... No it was real. The warmth of their hands in his own was enough to prove that.

_ “Mi hijo, it is so good to see you again,”  _ his mama’s voice was soft and sweet just like he remembered, her accent more defined than his own. Her cocoa colored hair blew with the wind. This had to be real.

Lance cocked his head to the side with a grin. His abuela’s hand gently caressed his cheek, wiping away the fallen tears. He sucked in his breath, containing his sobs just enough to remain in control of himself.  His brothers and sister were beside him, holding his arms tightly. 

Lance was afraid that if they let go then they would fade, disappear with the wind.

_ “Where on Earth have you been, mi hijo? We were all worried sick about you!”  _ Lance’s mama dragged his attention back to her and he smiled warmly, “I’ve been saving the universe from these big purple cats, it's a lot more serious than it sounds honestly.”  His papa got his attention this time, unlike mama whose skin was rich bronze. His papa was sun kissed caramel with bright blue eyes to rival the sea and no accent. 

Lance remembered how confused he was that his papa was a different shade lighter than himself and everyone else on his mama’s side of the family. He was a small boy then and papa explained that he wasn't from Cuba, he was from America and preferred to be inside unlike his 'rascal children'.

Lance chuckled at the fond memory, turning back to his papa as he spoke, " _ My boy, you’ve done a wonderful job! But.. It’s time to come home.” _ Papa's expression softened but his smile never faltered.

Something felt wrong with those words. 

Papa couldn’t be here and even if he was he wouldn't of said that. He would encourage him to keep going.

In fact none of them should even be on this planet!

There was scratching at the back of Lance’s head, Blue was trying to claw at the wall Lance had built around himself when his trance began.  Alarming him that this situation was in fact very wrong but everything felt so right. To see his family once more.

To know that they’re proud of him. To know that they love him. They were here with him. It felt so real, so right. The fuzz that had taken hold of his thoughts, his memories, the fuzz conjured up by the pollen began to wane, causing discomfort and confusion.

His brow furrowed and Lance took a cautious step back. He was becoming frantic, “Papa.. How are you here? You died… You… H-How…” Papa smiled brighter, ignoring his son’s questions. Luis and Marco tugged on Lance’s arms and pulled the man forward,  _ “come on Lance! We’re gonna be late!” _

Lance turned his head from his brothers toward his parents, grandmother and sister. 

They had stopped at the edge of the forest, Lance couldn't bring himself to move any further. He was confused, sad, angry, there were so many emotions mixing together that Lance couldn’t tell what he was feeling but he knew one thing. 

He was scared.    
What were they late for again? A recital? A doctor’s appointment? Did he even know?   
  


With a wave of their hands they beckoned Lance to follow after. 

His brothers and sister along with his grandmother entered the forest, leaving Lance with his mama and papa. They each held his hands and tugged him forward with smiles, promising home and love.  The trance Lance was under was swept aside upon hearing his name being shouted somewhere behind him. When he turned his head back he noticed the other lions were parked right beside her and his other teammates rush toward him, calling out his name.

How long have they been there?

He wanted to go with his family, he wanted to be with them but he had a mission to do first right? 

Pilot the blue lion, kill Zarkon, save the universe? 

Plus he couldn't just leave his team behind like that.    
  
“Lance! Lance snap out of it! It’s just a hallucination!” Hunk cried. Slowly Lance was coming out of his stupor and the purple pollen had all but ceased to flow through the air but it already done it’s damage on the boy.

Lance felt relief and guilt weigh him down. They came after him. Even after his outburst but what was Hunk saying? Something about a hallucination? Lance turned back to his mama and papa, their smiles were gone and their tugging seemed to have gotten stronger for he stumbled into a bush. 

  
_ Mi hijo! Please! Come with us! You’ll be safe here with us! _

_ Listen to your mother Lance. _

_ Lance! Hurry! _

_ Lance. _

_ Mi hijo. _

Lance yanked his hands away from his parents, visibly shaken as he shook his head and covered his ears, “shut up..! I can’t think straight!” He was right, this was definitely wrong.

His papa had died a long time ago.

He was light years away from home… So his family couldn’t of been here right now.

  
Tears pricked at the edge of his eyes again, threatening to fall over. The wind blew, casting Lance in dense cloud of purple pollen.  Unable to see through the cloud the team stopped a few feet away. Without knowing exactly where Lance was they could trample him without meaning to. 

They waited.   
  
The wind chipped away specs of pollen from the cloud. Lance’s figure shown through the holes the wind had made, he was facing his team now. 

Keith grumbled something under his breath about being impatient and stepped forward. He pushed passed the pollen just as the wind carried the last of it and grabbed Lance’s wrist, intent on dragging him back to his lion and knocking some sense into that brain of his. 

Keith turned on his heel and tugged but was left with resistance.    
  
He turned toward Lance, if he wanted to have his sense knocked into him here then so be it but his glare fell short, his fist that was going to deal the final blow dropped to his side, “... Lance?”   
  
Lance yanked his wrist out of Keith’s grasp. His stare was cold as ice, eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. His expression wasn’t pleasant. 

He looked angry, filled with hatred. That wasn’t like Lance at all. 

Keith took a cautious step back. 

This wasn’t the Lance he knew.   
  
The Lance he knew was bright, cheerful, annoying yet sensitive and attune to someone else’s feelings. This Lance… This Lance was filled with hatred, sadness, and anger. He could feel it ripple off him in waves. 

It was terrifying.   
  
“Oh don’t look so shocked Keith,” Lance’s eyes flickered to the rest of the team who stood dumbfounded. Lance hissed, “don’t look at me like that! I’m a human being not a doll that can suddenly show emotion.” Already he was tired of this. 

They didn’t come after him to make up, no they came to scold him. For being out of line toward Hunk but he deserved it didn’t he!?   
  
_ Yes Lance… Hunk didn’t know how you felt, he just assumed it was your fault.  _ __   
__   
That’s right. Hunk blamed him for pulling away, for disappearing when it was him who pushed him away.    
  
_ What about the others? Do they see you for you? Do they hear your cries or do they shut you out? _ __   
__   
Pidge pushed him away, got onto him for touching her things and essentially kicked him out of her lab time and time again. 

Shiro and Allura are too caught up on leading and Voltron to even bat an eye and Keith? 

He’s so far up on his pedestal that he wouldn’t even  _ dream  _ of looking down where Lance stood.    
  
_ Come with us… You’ll be happier here. They don’t need you, they can find someone else. _   
  
That odd whispering in the back of his mind was right. Voltron didn’t need him. Blue is the most accepting of the lions, anyone could pilot her. 

Lance gritted his teeth, his vision was fuzzy and he could barely make out the figures in front of him.  He didn’t feel it, couldn’t feel it when vines slowly crept from the underbrush and wrapped around his ankles, traveling up to his thighs. 

He was too caught up in his emotions to realize he was being ensnared by thick, green vines. They wrapped around his arms and torso, squeezing him. 

Encouraging him to let everything out. 

The whispering grew louder but it seemed only he could hear it.    
  
“Shut up… Shut up!” Lance’s hands flew to his ears, covering them once more as tears streamed down his cheeks, “I’m not⎼ I’m not a replacement! I’m their sharpshooter! I’m part of the team..!” Lance choked on a sob, the vines pulling him down until he sat on his knees, hunched over. 

The persistent whispering continued, filling his senses.    
  
Extra vines whipped around Lance and slapped the ground between him and the others, forcing them to take a step back, “guys we need to do something about those vines, I have a bad feeling about this,” Pidge spoke just as a vine whipped toward her.  She barely had enough time to call her shield in order to protect herself from the assault but the force had her stumbling into Shiro.   
  
“Great plan now how do you expect us to do that!?” Keith exclaimed after having been forced to activate his own shield to protect himself from another vine.    
  
Shiro helped Pidge to stand, activating his shield and his arm, “we’ll have to cut them down,” he turned to look at the yellow and green paladin, “you two get to lance if you can, Keith and I will take care of the vines.” The three nodded and sprung into action.   
  
Pidge and Hunk pushed back what they could using their shields as Keith and Shiro flanked them, using their bodies to protect the two as they inched closer to Lance. 

Keith’s sword connected with a vine, slicing it through like it was nothing. The plant fell to the ground and thrashed before it was pulled back and replaced with another, wrapping around Keith’s legs until he ran it through. 

It was no different on Shiro’s end. The vines he was battling kept aiming for his blind spots; spots that his prosthetic couldn’t quite reach like a sword could.  They made it to Lance now. Keith and Shiro diligently slashed away at incoming vines as Hunk and Pidge tore at the ones who held Lance down, filling his head with who knows what. 

Lance had quieted down, muttering a string of denials and choked on his sobs in the process. Pidge managed to cut away the last of the vines when an ear piercing scream came from the depths of the forest.    
  
It shook the trees, stirred up fallen leaves and caused the birds to flee the scene.

_ NO! YOU CANNOT TAKE HIM! HE IS OURS!  _

“What was that??” Hunk exclaimed frantically as he pulled Lance— who was out cold— close to his chest, exhaustion from the continuous nights without sleep finally taking hold. 

Keith and Shiro darted in front of trio, the vines that had been attacking were pulled back and  _ something  _ was coming toward them. Hunk had gathered Lance into his arms when a tree came barreling through the brush on the other side of them,“uh I think that’s our cue to leave guys…” 

The ground beneath them trembled, deafening thumps resonated within them like the bass of a loud stereo. The canopy above rained leaves, twigs and branches snapped as the trees that lined the woodland edge bent under the weight of hands: hands that were a deep green, leaves growing from the wrist to up the arm where it faded into a lighter green for the torso and head. More leaves decorated it’s body which was twisted like winding roots that dropped into purple flower petals on what they assumed was the waist because everything below the petals were vines; vines that moved as it stepped out of the brush. Whatever this creature was it didn’t have a face, branches protruded from the top of it’s head and it hovered over them like a looming cloud.

A sense of dread came over the onlookers as it swayed back and forth from right to left, the vines raised off the ground at a snail's pace and the middle of the creature’s face split open revealing two rows of sharp teeth and a long tongue that rolled out of the side of the being’s mouth. 

“Go!” Shiro shouted as he directed the other’s back towards the lions with a wave of his hand. The trees that were bent collapsed under the weight of the creature, crashing to the ground in heaps, lifeless. It raised it’s hand above them, the tips of the fingers long and drawn to a tip like claws, “GUYS GO!” Shiro cried out, ushering the other’s into a run just as the hand came down and slashed at the ground right where they had been standing, throwing up dirt. 

As they raced toward their lions the creature followed, the vines launching the creature forward, trailing behind them too close for comfort.    
  
_ GIVE HIM BACK. HE IS MINE.  _ __   
  


_ GIVE. GIVE. GIVE. GIVE. GIVE. GIVE. GIVE.  _ __   
__   
The chant bounced off the inner walls of their heads, giving them an excruciating headache but that was the least of their worries. The vines they had been cutting away to get to Lance suddenly shot out and wrapped around Hunk’s ankles.    
  
He toppled over, “crap!” Lance fell out of his arms and rolled just far enough for a new set of vines to launch after the unconscious boy. 

What was this thing and why was it so adamant about taking Lance away?    
  
Keith dove over Lance, shielding him with his body, the vines circled around them both and encased them in a thick spiny cocoon. Keith embraced Lance, held him to his chest protectively, “shit— hey! Can you guys hear— oof!” The raven didn’t know what happened, he could only imagine his body colliding into something. It was dark and the lights on his and the brunet’s suit lit the interior enough for Keith to make out the rise and fall of his chest. Outside the cocoon he could hear snaps and the wind whistling, they must of been moving.

_ Shit. _   
  
The communications link crackled with static and broken pieces of his team’s voices until it cut completely and it was replaced with white noise, “... Damn.” 

Shiro helped Hunk stand, their eyes lingering on the torn path through the forest. Dead trees lined a trail for them to follow. The speakers inside their helmets crackled and they were gifted with the concerned and frantic voice of Allura, “paladins, have you gotten Lance back?”    
  
“Not yet… We’ve lost both Lance and Keith but we got a pretty good trail to follow,” Pidge replied after she gained her breath.

Allura’s frustrated sigh came from the other end followed by a tapping sound, must of been her fingertips. “You must hurry, I fear we did not do a thorough scan of not only the mother flower but the planetary system we are located in,” she began and the tapping stopped. Coran blew up two screens for her to analyze further, “I’ll start with the flower; the mother flower feeds off the one it’s already imprinted on. The pollen sends the affected into a panic, recreating hallucinations to lead them back to the flower. Once the mother flower has Lance in it’s petals the effect of the pollen will worsen, distracting Lance as it… Literally devours him whole.”    
  
The team launched over fallen trees and avoided any vines- wary of any movement from the plants, “shit then we need to hurry..!”    
  
“What’s wrong with the system we’re in Allura?” Hunk asked, unable to mask his worry as they came upon a clearing. The creature from earlier circled around a large flower, blue petals twisted closed and subtle movement coming from within.    
  
That had to be Lance and Keith.

A twig snapped and the creature whipped it’s head toward the noise, the trio just barely made it to the brush before it spotted them.  It slithered around the flower, protecting it and reacting to any little movement brought on by the forest around them, “earlier we saw what looked like another sun in this system further scans show it’s a planet and it’s about to go supernova- I’m not saying I’m rushing you but… It would be nice.” 

“How long do we have?” Pidge asked and pressed a button on her gauntlet. She synced the time Allura said with her alarm and the communication was cut. Pidge nodded, “twenty minutes before we all blow up, guys, we need to get Keith and Lance out of there.” 

Hunk waved his head toward the creature still slinking around, “okay well what do we do about  _ that  _ thing? It’s kind of blocking our path.”

Shiro and Pidge glanced at each other before looking at Hunk, usually Lance would be the one to carry out a plan like this but desperate times called for desperate measures. Hunk raised an eyebrow questioningly before his face fell, “oh- oh no, no, not me,” he shook his head vehemently, “I don’t want to be eaten! I don’t even taste good— Ack!” Hunk flattened himself as close to the ground as he could manage. A little more cautious than the other two who merely ducked their heads when the creature passed by. 

Pidge raised her head once they were in the clear and pointed to Hunk as she hissed under her breath, “look we would of asked Lance but he’s preoccupied at the moment and we can’t exactly  _ shoot  _ the flowe— we need to cut it from the outside.” Hunk wrinkled his lip in disdain but she had a point. 

The yellow paladin released a sigh as he narrowed his gaze at the two of them, “fine but you guys owe me, contact me as soon as you guys have Lance and Keith.” Shiro clapped a hand on Hunk’s shoulder, “good luck,” Shiro nodded.

Hunk emerged from the brush when the creature was at its farthest away from their hiding spot. He didn’t need to do much to gain it’s attention, the creature was already launching for him prompting Hunk to sprinted in a random direction as fast as his legs would take him and as loudly as his lungs would allow. 

The live bait worked better than previously thought- with the creature out of the area Pidge and Shiro jogged up to the flower in order to save the two paladins trapped inside.   
  


XxXxXx

 

It felt like he was underwater, body too heavy to float to the surface so he sunk further into the abyss. It was a slow descent into nothing. Old memories appeared within the darkness, faded at the edges and blue in hue. Not a single one of them were good. The pollen inside his system stirred up the worst of what he could remember, what he felt like he remembered. 

There was that bully he had as a kid. Always picked on Lance because he was smaller than himself.

There was that time he came out as bisexual to his family. He remembered majority of the family supported him, were happy for him but there were always that few who didn’t understand or plain hated it. 

The scorn on their faces  _ hurt.  _

Then he packed up to leave for the Garrison, he hated leaving his family behind but they were so proud of him even the ones who once held those taunting expressions were proud. However that pride he felt, carrying the families best wishes and hopes all fell apart when he failed the fighter pilot exam and got stuck as a cargo pilot. 

Iverson’s yelling was a constant in his life. An unchanging variable. He studied so hard only to be constantly shut down. It didn’t him feel any better that he had developed a crush on the top student in the fighter pilot class.

  
Then there was the worst of the worse.

_ Lance stood in front of the bulletin board that showcased the top students who passed the flight simulation. He scanned the board for his name only to find it— much to his frustration—  at the very bottom of the list and uptop for the hundredth time was Keith Kogane. The brunet sighed, unhappy with his results but not surprised in the least. No matter how hard he tried, how hard he studied, it was never enough.  _

_ Students down the hall congratulated Keith for his top score. He didn’t even look happy for himself, not once had he seen that boy smile or thank someone for their compliment. It was that same scowl he wore everywhere. There was something Lance always did to fail the flight simulation and there was a moody, attractive, flight simulator ace walking his way.  _

_ Surely Keith Kogane had some tips for him? _

_ “Oh hey,” Lance reached out instinctively to grab Keith’s arm in order to cease the male’s stride, “Keith right? I was wondering if you had some tips to share?” The raven’s gaze fell from the hand on his arm to Lance, his expression was blank. Lance wasn’t sure if this guy even knew who he was.  _

_ Keith shook off Lance’s arm, “McClain right?” He asked, surprising Lance with his words. _ __   
_   
_ __ “Uh yeah actually how did you—” Lance was interrupted by Keith who shook his head. 

_ “It’s not hard to remember the guy who always flunks the simulator, any tip I give won’t be of use to you,” Keith shrugged and turned on his heel to walk away. _

_ Lance parted his lips to retaliate, brow furrowed in anger but what could he say to that? Keith was right. He pursed his lips together firmly, hands clenched into fists. The dam he had built up, that strong concrete he formed after every hurtful expression that was thrown his way, after each failure, after each lecture that was screamed at him by Iverson; It cracked. Lance turned the opposite direction and walked away, head held high but a single tear rolled down his cheek and dropped to the tile floor.  _

_ After that his crush on Keith faded. _ __   
_   
_ _ It turned into a rivalry that Keith himself didn’t know existed. There was Lance constantly doing his best to get ahead of the ravenette; to be better than him and force those words Keith hat uttered into submission. For him to take back what he said and admit he was worthy of tips, worthy of Keith’s  _ precious  __ time. 

_ Keith dropped out after Takashi Shirogane’s disappearance. That allowed Lance to rise into the ranks but it didn't feel good, didn’t feel right. There was no pride to be held there, he was just the replacement and Iverson never ceased to remind him.  _

Lance squeezed his eyes shut, he didn’t need the reminder, the little voice in the back of his head did enough of that. He felt exhausted, heavy, cold and sad. 

So incredibly sad. It was like every drop life was being drained from him. 

Was it this weird darkness that surrounded him? 

Lance sucked in a deep breath but he struggled. The rise and fall of his chest slowed, heart rate which was beating rapidly earlier had decreased exponentially.    
  
Was he dying? Lance could only assume so. That would explain why he remembered his days in the Garrison. His life had flashed before his eyes.

  
_ Lance. _ __   
__   
Who was calling to him? It sounded like Keith but why?   
  
_ Lance! _ __   
__   
That was definitely Keith.   
  
_ LANCE. _ __   
__   
His eyes shot open, wide and fearful as he drew in a deep breath; ragged and painful. He couldn’t move, he felt numb. Frantic Lance scanned the area around him, relying on his peripheral vision to cover his blind spots. 

  
Keith caressed the cheek he had smacked a few moments ago, “hey hey… Calm down and look at me,” he cooed softly. Lance’s eyes locked onto Keith’s, mouth parted to speak but he shushed him and coaxed the man to relax in his embrace, “good, don’t try to speak, you aren’t looking so hot.”

Lance’s lips quirked upward in a tired smile and when he spoke his voice was raspy, no louder than a whisper, “I’m always hot, Mullet.” He was sure it was just an illusion brought upon by fatigue but he could of sworn he saw a smile on Keith’s face. 

Keith sighed in relief and swiped his thumb over Lance’s cheekbone to wipe away the single tear that slipped out of the corner of his eye, “I see you’re still annoying as ever,” Keith replied before that smile faded and he worried his bottom lip between his teeth as Lance’s eyes slipped shut, “Lance? Keep your eyes open for me okay?”   
  
The brunet grunted. He murmured something about being tired and not wanting to but he did as asked albeit halfway. That smile Lance thought he imagined was gone and here he was stuck in a cocoon with his crush so close he could smell the mint of his toothpaste on his breath. Lance cleared his dry throat and began to speak, that dream he had where he was falling in the abyss. It shook him down to his core and if it was true, that he was in fact dying, he didn’t want to part on bad terms and left things unsaid. 

“You know I’ve hated you… God knows for how long,” Lance licked his chapped lips and took a break to regain his lost breath. He admired Keith’s frowning lips, violet eyes that seemed to glow against the dim blue light that their armor gave off. 

Keith felt his heart tug painfully. Lance just admitted he hated him and he expected no less. Lance’s attitude toward him had made that very clear but he knew it was justifiable. After he left the Garrison to look for Shiro he wasn’t expecting to see Lance again, at least not there.  He panicked and pretended not to know the former cargo pilot even though he had spent the earlier years admiring, pining, and wallowing in his own self loathing and guilt. 

After what he had done and said. Keith never forgave himself. He smashed his feelings for Lance in the process but being in close quarters with him again and practically living next to each other had brought it back.

Lance’s chuckle pulled him out of his bitter thoughts. Keith shook his head and the usual scowl he sported deepened, “Lance shut up you shouldn’t be talking right now.”   
  


Keith felt more than saw Lance roll his eyes, “Keith shut up and let me talk okay..? I have a few things I-” Lance squeezed his eyes shut and cried out in pain. His body was numb but now that wasn’t the case.

The brunet shifted, turned far enough to look down at his thigh. Keith’s eyes followed and cursed at the sight.    
  
Vines from the plant they were encased in extended from the inner walls and penetrated through Lance’s leg armor. They dug themselves into the soft flesh pulsating and sucking the blood from the man’s body.  

Keith cursed for the umpteenth time that day, he couldn’t call upon his bayard for help in fear of impaling Lance in such an enclosed space. 

He turned as much as he could, fingers tightening around one of the vines that punctured Lance’s leg and yanked on it only to cause Lance to yowl in pain. Keith immediately let go and turned his head to look at the blue paladin in alarm, “fuck I’m sorry, I was just..” Lance shook his head to silence the paladin’s apology as beads of sweat trickled down the side of his face.    
  
He inhaled and exhaled slowly. Lance struggled to keep his eyes open, struggled to suck in air that was desperately needed.    
  
He couldn’t breathe. Everything took so much energy. That was something Lance didn’t have at the moment. He was losing his grasp on his consciousness. He needed to tell Keith, needed to hash it out before he was gone for good. Keith could reject him, things could be awkward between them and that would be fine but at least Keith would know how he felt.   
  
“Keith… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but I need to,” Lance shuddered, vision blurred and voice faded, “I love you…”

 

XxXxXx

 

Shiro grappled one of the many petals of the bulb itself and yanked it. The flower itself held true to it’s grasp. Even with all the tugging not a single petal looked disturbed, “guys! Are you in there?!” He shouted. The clock was ticking. Hunk could only be a distraction for so long and with Pidge on look out—

Time was running short.

“Fuck! Why won’t this budge?” Shiro grunted. Another sharp tug and his hands slipped and he found himself ass first on the ground. “Try cutting it open,” Pidge hissed from her post just behind Shiro, bayard at the ready, “we don’t have time to sit around and peel a damn flower back just to get to them!”

A single roar broke the silence and Hunk barreled through the trees with a yelp, “sorry guys! We’re out of time!” He stopped a few feet from the green paladin, canon raised. Trees cracked under the pressure of giant paws made of nothing but tree bark and moss. Mouth parted to let out another ear piercing scream, saliva dripped from the needle like teeth. Vines whipped the air around the creature, creating a sort of shield to protect itself from projectiles.

Shiro scrambled to stand, centered behind the two paladins, “I have a plan but it might be a little risky. The top of its head, you see the rock there?” He asked. It took a minute but it finally clicked. That was the only rock on the creature’s body, as far as they could tell from their frantic running and dodging.

“Hunk cover me, I think I know where Shiro’s going with this!” Pidge bolted to the side, branching off from their little pow-wow. She pressed herself against a trunk of a tree, out of sight. Hunk blasted a spree of bullets at the moss-creature. It only seemed to anger it as it increased it’s speed. Pidge shot her grapple at a tree opposite of her position and prayed that whatever the hell they were going to do that it would work in their favor. 

She yanked and pulled the line taught. Her heels dug into the dirt below and closed her eyes in preparation.

Her breath hitched as the creature pummeled over the line, yanking her off her feet despite tugging with all her might. As luck would have it the line did it’s trick. The creature’s front legs tripped over the wire, back legs fumbled to catch itself as it fell forward.

Shiro sprung into action. The vines whipped around his body, splitting his skin across his cheek and biceps but he managed to push through. With his arm activated, Shiro pulled his arm back before smashing his fist against the rock.

Not once but thrice. Until the rock cracked under his weight.

The creature thrashed, throwing Shiro across the clearing and into the bulk of the bulb that was still pulsating at an alarming rate. The creature screamed bloody murder and Pidge just narrowly escaped a vine being thrown at her. The rock crumbled to dust, the moss seemed to fall off in clumps, vines spazzed before going limp and finally, the creature fell. It became a husk of it’s former self. All life was gone and appeared to be just another form of landscape.

“I can’t... Believe that worked...” Hunk panted as he lowered his bayard. He was spent. They all were.

The sound of something being sliced caught there attention. They turned around to see Keith split open the bulb from the inside. Pollen and slime covered his body as he pushed open the split petal and he gasped for breath.

Shiro joined Hunk and Pidge’s side after he recovered from the initial shock of being thrown. They eagerly greeted the red paladin, relief flashed across their faces but that relief was soon wiped clean and replaced with concern.

Fat tears rolled down the raven’s cheeks. His bayard was replaced with Lance’s body. Limp in his arms as Keith stumbled out of the mutilated plant. Lance looked ashen, his chest didn’t rise nor fall.

“I— We need to get him to a pod!” Keith choked on his sob. The team was distressed, frantic as they raced back to their lions. Hunk and Shiro towed the blue lion as Keith and Pidge raced back to the castle.

Lance couldn’t be gone. No. He was their blue paladin. Their sharpshooter. Their goofball. The one who pulled them together and eased their worries and stress by cracking jokes or making sure they were all taking care of themselves.

He couldn’t be dead.

 

XxXxXx

 

Keith stood in front of the pod. He hadn’t moved since they got back. The steady beep of the built in monitor was the only thing that kept him sane. Lance said some things before he passed out that Keith needed to hear again. He needed to tell lance the same thing. It might of taken him a lot longer to realize what he thought was pure annoyance toward the blue paladin was actually a liking toward the boy.

A liking Keith was more than eager to reciprocate.

Thinking back to when he cut open the flower bulb. The pure fear and devastation he felt when Lance stopped talking, stopped breathing. The thought of never hearing his voice, never seeing the light shine in those blue eyes of his.

It shook Keith down to his core.

He was so caught up in Lance’s condition that the red paladin did not register the quake of the castle when a near by planet exploded. Did not register the ship making a jump in order to save their skins.

Keith wasn’t even sure how many times the team had come in to check on both himself and lance’s condition.

He was tired. Bags under his eyes and his stomach would occasionally growl. How long had it been since lance was placed in the pod? He wasn’t sure.

Occasionally he’d hear someone call out to him, but he ignored it.

He wasn’t sure when it happened but Keith had shut his eyes. It was only for just a moment but a moment was all it took for the pod door to open. Keith jerked his head up, alert and just in time to catch a stumbling lance.

They collapsed onto the floor together, Keith cradling the groggy brunet in his arms. Keith’s arms tightened around the man, face buried into chestnut colored strands, “oh my god... Lance, oh my god, you fucking took your time!”

Lance hummed in response, arms wrapped around the body that provided warmth and comfort, “beauty takes time to reincarnate..” Lance murmured causing a wet chuckle to escape Keith’s lips.

The raven pulled back far enough to caress Lance’s cheek and press their forehead’s together, “you’re an idiot..” he whispered softly. Lance gently nudged the tip of their noses together, hope shined in those blue eyes that Keith adored, “well.. I’m your idiot?”

Keith’s expression softened, a warm smile spread across his lips as he nodded, “yeah... You’re my idiot.” Before lance could respond Keith closed what little gap there was and pressed their lips together in a soft and oh so sweet kiss.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all who have stuck by me and waited for this re-write!   
> It was a long journey but here we are.
> 
> I would also like to thank Keith, who helped me out with some ideas and spelling errors. You were such a tremendous help. Also ya’ll should go check out his fics >:0 he’s a better author than I am! UwU <3 
> 
> Link to Keithers ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keithers/pseuds/Keithers


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